This weekend is the first Sunday in the season of Advent. This is the season leading up to Christmas! In Advent, we wait together and reflect on the themes of hope, peace, joy, and love. Each Sunday in this season we light a candle to remember that Christ is a source of light in our shadowy world.

Light a candle together with your family as you worship together today.  Take a moment of quiet. Close your eyes and take a deep breath-- fill your tummy with air and then slowly let it out. Remember that God is with you.

After you've read/watched the story, think about these questions...(adapted from Be the Story Curriculum)

• I wonder what it would be like not to be allowed to go to church
• I wonder what it would be like to be tricked and betrayed by others
• I wonder how Daniel felt in the lion’s den
• I wonder how the king felt when he saw Daniel was safe
• I wonder how hard it is to trust God is with you when you are afraid

Activity: Make a Lion's Mask
You will need: paper plates, orange string, yellow and white paint. First, paint the plate yellow and paint a nose and mouth in black Then, glue on strips of orange string or paper for a mane. Cut out eyes and glue them on as ears-- now you have eye holes to see out of! You can either put the mask on a stick or use string to make it a face mask. Pretend to be a lion! What do you think the lions thought when they saw Daniel? 

Activity: Prayer for Hope
I bet Daniel felt very afraid when he was thrown into the lion's den. Sometimes we face scary things, but God is with us when we are scared. What are some things you are worried or scared about today? What other things do you want to pray about? Talk about them with your family, then pray together:

Dear God, like Daniel we are scared of many things (list here). Be with us and help us to be brave. Help us to trust in you when we are scared. In Jesus' name, Amen. 

 If this is the future, come summer, we will have a lot of work to do: Contacting everyone and welcoming them back into church community life, stained glass window project rekindled, youth mission trips happening and a renewed home visitation ministry active.  This is all very possible; life restored. ​

But until then, we wait.  December and January, because of Covid-19, the world is facing its darkest time.  Hospitals are overrun. Members of this congregation not only have the virus, but some have barely escaped death while others, will be forever physically compromised.  Sports are shutting down.  And the church council has set a policy that if all the schools return to schooling online, we will return to worship online again.  Here are several bits of information for everyone to know.

1.  Starting December 6th, worship will return to online.   It can be accessed through Glen Cary’s Facebook page or Glen Cary’s webpage. 
2. Christmas Eve worship will be one service, in the parking lot at 4:00, ending with a congregation wide candle lightening event, singing Silent Night with lights in the parking lot.  It should be a very powerful and meaningful event.
3. The stewardship committee asks everyone to use their 2020 pledges for the next year (2021) and if able, to give a one-time end of the year increased gift to the ministry of Glen Cary.  Keeping the church strong financially is a high priority and giving everyone the chance to grow in faith by sharing your resources with the mission is a wise and meaningful response. 
4. Everyone, please be wise and safe during the last stages of this pandemic.  It seems as though we are in the 5th inning of a 9 inning contest.  Avoiding the virus just as a vaccine appears to be forthcoming is prudent. 
5.  The church council is working on an annual meeting plan where everyone can be informed of congregational budgeting, planning and voting agendas which can done without meeting in person.  Details will be forthcoming.  

Whether you know it or not, this year, 2020 and parts of 2021, fit into biblical themes found throughout all of scripture.  The world through time and history has faced events like this.  War, disease, famine and other such tragedies have returned people to the proper awareness that we are not in control.  God is.  God is our rock and shield in times of trouble.  When all is said and done, may this time remind us of the sacredness of life, the message of the Gospel and re-teach us what is truly important. 

See you in church (on-line again)
Pastor Gary Guptill  
 

Today's Scripture lesson comes from Jeremiah 31:31-34. Jeremiah was a young prophet-- when God called him, he was only a kid! You can read a bit about him in your SPARK Storybook Bible on page 176. 

Read this lesson together:

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.  It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord.  But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

• What questions do you have about this reading? 
• What is your favorite part?
• A covenant is an agreement made between two people or groups.  God makes promises to us even though we can't keep our side of the agreement! 
• Iniquity  is another word for sin or doing something harmful.

Activity: Written on Your Heart
God doesn't just want us to know what he says, God wants us to make it a part of our lives-- to take it to heart! We need to live according to our faith. We love God with our whole mind, heart, soul, and strength-- every part of us!

• On a piece of paper, draw a large heart. 
• What is going on in your heart today? Are you happy, sad, or scared? Are you upset about everything going on?  On one half of the heart, write or draw what you are experiencing.
• On the other half of your heart, write what God says. Here are some examples!
  1. God loves you.
  2. Jesus is with you always.
  3. Do not be afraid!
  4. God forgives us when we make mistakes.
  5. "Love your neighbor as yourself."
  6. The dead will be raised!

Activity: Follow the Law
Brainstorm some ways you can live out your faith and take God's law to heart. Here are some examples:

• Donate to NACE Food Shelf, Hope4Youth, or another local organization that serves those in need.
• Ask your parents (or children, or spouses) if there is anything you can do to help them this week.
• Call a grandparent, church person, or someone else who would appreciate some conversation.
• What other ideas can you come up with?

Activity: Thanksgiving! ​
This week, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving. Even though this is an American holiday, there are many Scriptures about giving thanks. Try looking some up and reading them together!

• 1 Chronicles 16:34
• Psalm 28:7
• Psalm 69:30
• 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
• Luke 22:19-20

What are some things you are grateful for this Thanksgiving? Thank God for them! Pray: Dear God, thank you for.... 

Activity: Thank You Notes
Think of someone who you are grateful for-- it may be a teacher, coach, parent, grandparent, etc. Write them a thank-you note and either deliver it (safely) or mail it to them this week. 

Today our Scripture lesson comes from Isaiah 6:1-8. You can read this in your Bible or in your SPARK Storybook Bible on page 166, "Isaiah's Call."  You can watch worship here and download this PDF with today's activities. 

See if you can answer these questions to help learn the story...

• How many wings did the angels have?
• What did the angels sing? What does holy mean?
• What did God ask Isaiah?
• What is a prophet?

Activity:  Imagine what God looks like sitting on the throne surrounded by angels. Draw what you think Isaiah saw! 

Activity: Just as God called Isaiah to be a prophet, God calls each of us to help others and share God's love. Brainstorm some ways you can help others this week. Then, go do them! 

Today we hear a beloved and familiar story-- about Jonah and the whale! Everyone loves a good fish story. However, as your kids get older, I urge them to look beyond the fish to the other important themes going on in the story.

You can read the story in Jonah 1:1-17, 3:1-10 or in the SPARK Storybook Bible on page 190. You can watch worship here and download this PDF for today's activities. 

• How do you think Jonah felt when God commanded him to go to Ninevah? When he was thrown overboard and swallowed by a fish? When the fish spit him out?
• What is your favorite part of this story and why?
• Activity: Can you retell the story in your own words? Try to put the events in order on the activity sheet.
• Activity: Color the story! Either illustrate it yourself or use the picture on the activity sheet. 

Activity: What would you do?

• Imagine you were in Jonah's position. Write or tell a story describing what you would do if God asked you to go somewhere you didn't want to go.
• Have you ever disobeyed God, a parent, or teacher? What happened? Write or tell the story.

Activity: Prayer Requests

• Jonah prayed to God when he was scared and so can we. What are some things you want to pray about this week?

This last weekend we celebrated All Saints Sunday-- a day in the church when we give thanks and remember all the saints who have died in this past year, as well as all who have influenced our faith. 

Given the recent COVID pandemic, there are so many we remember this year. Your children may be asking many questions about death-- I know mine have been. Our faith gives us language to answer these questions with grief and hope. We view death through the lens of Jesus' own death-- and his resurrection.

Download this PDF for today's activities. You can watch worship here.

Read: Matthew 5:1-12

• The Beatitudes are one of Jesus' most well-known teachings, from his Sermon on the Mount. They describe an upside-down kingdom, in which the "blessed" or "happy" ones are those who are suffering.
• Which Beatitude do you like the best? Which is most important to you right now?
• Activity: Look at the attached PDF to color and review the meaning of each Beatitude. 

Activity: Saint Profile​
As we celebrate All Saint's Sunday, we remember those in our lives who have died, but also any Christian who we admire. Do you know someone who has died? Who in your life inspires your faith? 

This All Saint's, I remembered my Papa Jack, who died five years ago. He came to all of my hockey games when I was growing up-- that's a lot of games! He was also very involved in different charities and his church. He sang in the choir and played his tuba for special music. To honor him, I was sure to sing along with worship! 

Think of someone you want to remember today, draw them, and tell a bit about them on the Saint Profile (see PDF).